Chicago - Rome, Italy 

This is a small rather spartan budget hotel. It is well located near the termini train station with easy access to Rome's sights. Our room was clean and cheerfully decorated. The bathroom was adequate. The two twin beds were the narrowest -- and hardest -- I've ever slept on. I imagine this is what you get in jail. The first time I rolled over, I landed on the floor with a thud. That's how narrow it was. The hotel doesn't really have a lobby. You leave the "office," where the front desk is located, go outside and enter the hotel itself via another door. There's no elevator. There are several rooms located in a pod. To gain access, you have to be buzzed in by the front desk. The entrance is in a small courtyard with apartments and businesses on the opposite side. This isn't so great if one of your neighbors decides to play loud music or have a loud conversation into the wee hours of the morning. That happened a couple of nights. The breakfast isn't worth the trouble. The guy at the front desk demanded payment in cash. He claimed the credit card machine was out of order. At first, I refused, but finally acquiesced. The hotel is OK for what it is, and given the weak dollar, is bareable. But I was glad to leave.